Guilty verdict for Ottawa teen who plotted to ‘kill as many Jewish persons as possible’

The Ottawa Courthouse at 161 Elgin Street. Photo by Stock photo

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Israel’s Consul General in Toronto has weighed in on the case of a Canadian teenager who plotted “to kill as many Jewish persons as possible,” after a guilty verdict was handed down in the case.

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“Guilty,” Idit Shamir wrote in a post on X. “The  teenager who planned to murder as many Jews as possible in Ottawa was found guilty. A Canadian court has confirmed what the Jewish community knew before the arrest, before the ball bearings, before the acetone: that the threat was real. The people who called us alarmist have been very quiet this week.”

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On Wednesday, Ontario Superior Court Justice Ian Carter found the 17-year-old Ottawa youth guilty of terrorism charges stemming from an alleged plan to attack Jewish people.

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The youth, who was arrested in December 2023 and cannot be identified due to his age, pleaded not guilty to four charges, but admitted to a statement of facts and invited the court to find him guilty. This unusual move preserves his right to appeal the pretrial exclusion of certain evidence, as well as the guilty findings.

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Carter found the youth guilty of conspiracy to commit murder through involvement with a terrorist group. The findings of guilt also include facilitating terrorist activity by possessing explosive substances, specifically acetone, an oxidizer and metal ball bearings.

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The statement of facts says the youth was inspired by the Islamic State terror group and planned, along with others, to carry out a terrorist attack in Ottawa against Jewish people. It adds there was discussion of him using homemade pressure cooker bombs in a suicide assault.

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On Thursday, a separate trial began for a second youth co-accused with the first. The second youth pleaded not guilty to terrorism-related charges. The 17-year-old, who was arrested in February 2024, also cannot be identified due to his age.

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Canadian Press reported that Crown prosecutor Kelly Reitsma outlined the case against second youth, saying he conspired with his co-accused and an unindicted individual, who used the online aliases Klm and Gh D, to commit murder.

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The Crown said the role of the second youth was to assist with the attack by seeking to acquire a prohibited firearm, possibly an Uzi.

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“Though there will be evidence that the specific plan changed over time, their intent remained the same: to kill as many Jewish persons as possible in support of the Islamic State,” Reitsma said, per Canadian Press. “That other persons would die in an attack was expected and accepted.”

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Reitsma added that while the first youth “believed in martyrdom,” the second “did not wish to die for the cause.”

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The trial for the second youth continues. CBC reports that a four-day sentencing hearing will be scheduled at a later date for the first youth, and that the Crown will ask for the teen to be sentenced as an adult.

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— with files from Canadian Press

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